


Heart-eater

by SlaveToGravity



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Band, Countdown, Government, Heart, I don't know, Love, M/M, Machine - Freeform, beat - Freeform, help me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 12:26:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9323522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlaveToGravity/pseuds/SlaveToGravity
Summary: " And don't forget, don't waste your heart "





	

**Author's Note:**

> So first of all, I'm sorry for the bad summary. Please, help me with that. I'm bad at this...  
> Second of all, I'm french, and my english isn't that good. So sorry for the mistakes and the wrong words. Really, I tried.  
> Third of all, I used to write Septiplier's one-shot, but i started to feel bad about it, so I stopped. Yeah, I kind of gave up, but it's a secret. I won't delete them though, I liked them a little, so...
> 
> I wanted to name this one-shot "mange-coeur", it's the french expression for "heart-eater" because I think that, for once, french sounds better, but for a better understanding, I thought that I would translate it.
> 
> For now on, I'll just let you read.

_At first, it started with just a strange sensation. Tickling his heart and his lungs, making him feel a little bit off, wondering what it was._

~.~

" - Remember kids, when you'll grow up, you'll discover what adults call "love". When it'll happen, you'll have two choices : running away from it and saving your heart, or sacrificing half of your life. Until then, do whatever you want. And don't forget : Don't waste your heart. "

          Josh never understood this politic. Well, he never understood politic in general, but the fact that their little hearts, those machines beating between their lungs, under their rib cages, were an invention of mad scientists, was horrifying him. A little seven years old kid, with dark short hair and big hazel eyes, scared of his own heart, his own body, scared of eavesdropping a conversation between his mother and an agent saying that, one day, they'll have to stop the machine in Josh's chest if they want to control the planet a little more. Josh was terrified, not only for him, but also for his mother, for everyone around him. He didn't want to see his little friends coming to see him, one day, saying they lost one of their parents because they made the mistake to fall in love, he didn't want strangers fainting, dying in front of him, because their heart ran out of beats, he didn't want his mother, his sweet, kind mother, to one day, say, "I'm sorry Joshie, I won't be near anymore". She already lost eleven years, he didn't want her to loose more. So Josh, like other kids his age, maybe younger, was already mature, terrified, cheking everyday if his heart, his machine, was not stoping, slowing, betraying him. Josh was too mature, too "tall" for a little guy his age. All of this because, one day, humans decided to play god. So Josh, as a last chance, decided to never fall in love.

~.~

_Then, it became stronger. An unpleasant feeling, like fingers touching his heart, like hands pressing his lungs, an uneasy sensation forcing him to breath faster, making him waste, little by little, precious beats._

~.~

" - So, basically, you're alone now. Yeah ?  
\- I told you, Josh, yes, for the hundredth time, I'm alone. No one.  
\- So you need someone with you, right ?  
\- Yes, yes, yes, and yes.  
\- Well, I can come with you for this tour and after that, we'll see.  
\- Josh, you have a job. We talked about that.  
\- Yes, but like I said, I can just leave. If the tour thingy works, then I'm staying with you, if it doesn't, you'll find another drummer, and maybe a bassist and a guitarist at the same time, and I'll just go and find another job in Ohio. I swear it doesn't bother me that much.  
\- That much ?  
\- Well, it doesn't bother me at all if you prefer. "

          For a second, Tyler thought. He thought about the problems this idea might cause to Josh, to his job, his stable life, and the trouble it might cause to his unstable band, to the not so big fan base, to the not so important tour. And for a moment, all his usually over-reacting brain said was to give it a try. Tyler sighed.

" Okay, we'll try. But if it doesn't work, you'll have to search for a new job, okay ? "

          Josh squeaked, sounding like a little kid finding a bright new toy under an over decorated christmas tree. He jumped up and down but, feeling his heart beating too fast, he calmed down, a big smile on his face.

"- Thanks Ty, I'll make it work, I promise.  
\- You better. "

          They both smiled. They were happy, proud of a future they didn't know. Josh will make it work. They'll both make it work. And Josh, for the first time since he learned about the machine inside his chest, thought that, maybe, he wouldn't be scared of loosing a little bit of his life if it meant staying with Tyler. After all, he already felt happy. For the both of them.

~.~

_It grew intimidating. It felt more of a bother than an actual feeling, like his heart, his machine, had a problem, a disfunctionment. And, when it became too much for his body and mind, he called his mother, wanting to know if the machine the government put inside of him wasn't broken. After all, she knew about this too, they were both like crashing dummies._

~.~

          He never felt more betrayed. He knew he wasn't normal, he knew that his heart wasn't normal. But when he learned that his heart was like a test, that this machine wasn't a thing for everyone, that he grew up in a special school made for him and his kind, he felt dead, he felt cheated on. His mother told him, when he was younger, that he souldn't talk about his heart, that it was like a taboo subject he souldn't start a conversation about, but, being the little five years old kid he was, he never questioned, he just did. And maybe he should have asked why. He would have known, at this time, that they were only a few puppets to have those mechanics inside their little body, implanted at their birth, to see if they could live with it, to see if putting little false hearts under their rib cages could let them control the population. And it worked.

" - You heard that, Josh ? That's incredible... They really stopped a serial killer thanks to a false heart ? that's incredible and at the same time terrifying. If, like they said, the beats were predetermined, how long can people live with this ? That's creepy... "

          Josh felt scared. Of Tyler, of his mother, of the government, of everyone around him. He wasn't like anyone else, he wasn't like his friends. He was a part of a big, giant test, playing with their minds, their hearts, their entire life. He hated the idea of death sentence, feeling like people killing others under the name of justice was being as bad as killers, playing God. But knowing that his life was just a test, an experiment for a better control over the human kind felt even more disgusting. He suddenly felt nauseous. His heart skipped a beat, an alarm went off in his mind. He ran outside, took a deep breath. He wanted to cry. He knew his heart wasn't his. Now, ke knew his life wasn't his either.

_~.~_

_It destroyed his mind, his thoughts, it made him cry. His mother told him, warned him about it. "You shouldn't stay, you should leave. Do like I did, live, live longer, keep your time, keep your mind. Run away and comme back here. You'll be safe. Please". It made Josh think, it made him shake, it made him even more scared. It, this sensation, this feeling, the indecisive situation he fell into, made him think twice about his life. It made him listen again and again to the frail voice of his lovely mother. " Please, Josh, I don't want my son to die before me. Please"._

~.~

          Tyler never knew about his heart. Tyler never knew anything. About the test, about the sword of Damocles hanging above Josh's head. He never knew anything. And Josh liked it. He liked Tyler's ignorance, he liked the feeling of his life slipping away slowly, secretly, without anyone knowing. He liked the idea of being normal, of being like Tyler, like Mark, like everyone in the tour bus. And he absolutly loved the concerts, the moments where, every night, he was losing a little bit more of lifetime, a little bit more beats. The oil boiling in his veins, the crews tourning in his heart, the irregular beats shaking his body, he liked the sensation of being human, being like others. Yet, sadly, he became attached to this sensation, he became attached to this constant danger, this constant fear of losing time. He fell in love with his heart at the same time he fell in love with his life.

" -So, Josh, what do you think we should do for the next tour ?  
\- What ? Sorry, I wasn't listening.  
\- Yeah, I saw that. We had the permission to climb, to play with a giant hamster ball and to play on the crowd, you know, with platforms and all. So, which one do you prefer ?  
\- Well, why not do all of them ? I mean, you wanted to do something special so we sould at least put all. It would be sick. "

          Tyler giggled at his friend. He liked the idea, he liked the man, he liked everything. He took a pencil and wrote down the idea.

" - Okay, so, we have to put it in an order if we want to at least do it correctly. We could do the platform thingy during Ride, when you do your little solo not so solo.  
\- And we could put it at the end of Trees. We could face each other, that would be sick.  
\- Sick as frick indeed, my fren. We'll think about the hamster ball later.  
\- And you could climb during Car Radio ! I swear to God Tyler, if one day, you climb and your mic is cut, I'll laugh at your face for an entire week. You'll just sit in silence.  
\- Ah ah, so funny Spooky, so funny. I'll write it down and give it to Mark. We'll see if it's okay or not. I'll come back ! "

          Tyler ran to the front of the but, holding carefully the paper against his chest. Josh laughed softly, closing his eyes. a sweet scent, the color pink turning red, he suddenly felt overwhelmed, his heart skipping a beat, then another, and another, he felt his machine beating faster as he thought about Tyler. He opened his eyes wide, trying to calm his heart, calm his mind. As it calmed down, he looked skeptically at his chest. It was a strange sensation.

~.~

_It made him feel sorry. He cared too much about losing his life, half of it. He heard again his teacher's voice. **Don't waste your heart**. It made him feel even more lost, weaker, unstable. It made him regret quitting his job, regret touring, regret falling away, falling in love with this life, with this idea of living from music. It made him feel stupid for falling in love with falling, for thinking that a life like this could make him forget about his time, about the clock that was slowly, slowly, stopping. It made him cry. It made him scream._

~.~

          She was beautiful, she was truly a masterpiece. Blonde hair coming in waves, soft lips, bright blue eyes, clear skin, beautiful voice and a natural elegancy, she was the definition of perfection. For Tyler. For Josh, she was a perfect reminder of his mistakes, of his bad choices. She was a penitence, another form of punishment for him being everything but normal. He had a machine, he wasn't normal after all.

" - You heard that Tyler ? Another criminal had been arrested.  
\- He had a Heart-eater too ?  
\- Yeah, an old one. They found his informations in the data center of the Heart-eater's compagny so they just had to stop his heart. They found his body around a school in Chicago. That's a bless they stopped him. He could have killed children.  
\- Well, everyone is safe now. I used to think that this mahcine was a bad idea but if they can save lives with this, maybe I'll think twice. "

          Josh wanted to scream, yell at them. No, it wasn't a bless. No, it wasn't a good thing. He felt like running away, like taking his heart out and showing them how much of a pain it was. See this heart ? This grey machine you think is a good thing ? See how fucking much it destroys lives ? He felt like crying.

"- Josh, are you okay ? I know you're not a big fan of this Heart-eater thing, I'm sorry. We shouldn't talk about it around you.  
\- I'm fine, don't worry Tyler. "

          Josh smiled weakly at Tyler. His heart skipped again. It was intimidating, it bothered him more than before. It was stronger. He didn't know if he liked it or not. Tyler stood up and hugged Josh carefully.

"- I'm sorry Josh. "

          For a second, Josh was scared Tyler knew about his heart condition. Then, it hit him. No, he didn't know. No, he couldn't know. Josh felt like crying again. His heart skipped a beat, another and another, his heart was beating faster than ever. His rib,cage like claws around his lungs, Josh stood up, waved at Tyler and Jenna and ran to his room. He took his phone and dialed his mother's number. They talked, longer than he thought it would take, and for once, the soothing voice of his mother scared him more than ever.

" You're in love, Josh. I'm sorry. "

          She cried. She mumbled incoherent words, pled him to come back, to give up on everything he built. Josh couldn't move, his eyes wide, loosing focus on his surroundings, and for a moment, he felt the phone slip from his grip, he felt the buzzing sound of his heart getting louder and louder in his ears, he felt a hand catching him from his fall, and he felt Tyler's panicked voice scream at Jenna to call an ambulance. He felt lost, he felt nothing and everything at the same time. Josh was scared. Scared for his life. Scared for his heart.

~.~

_It made him feel nothing._

~.~

" - It wasn't because of an illness or anything, just a shock too important that his heart couldn't handle. He'll be fine, don't worry. You'll just have to look after him, he lost many beats. I don't exactly know how much beats remain now, but I'll tell you after I receive all the results of the exams. By now, you'll just have to wait. When he'll wake up, he'll be a little lost so please, don't make him uncomfortable or don't stress him out. Just push the red button at the side of the bed and me or a nurse will come.  
\- I- I'll do that. Thanks doctor. "

          The doctor went away, gripping all the files against his chest. Tyler looked at the white coat covering the man's shoulders. A sob escaped his parted lips. He bit his nails, erased the transparent drops of salty water coming out of his red eyes. He put his hand against his chest, feeling his regular beat. It felt natural. He then put his other hand against Josh's rising chest and felt his beat. His too irregular beat.

Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb          Tumb

          It felt artificial. Wrong, false, it felt like a lie, a lying heart, a machine that shouldn't be here, not inside his best friend's body. Not inside a human. Tyler sobbed again, hearing his old words, the one he hated the most. He regretted saying that in front of Josh. He regretted even thinking that. He regretted everything, not knowing that his best friend had a machine instead of a heart, a lively heart, made out of flesh, blood, veins, breath, not of iron, plastic, oil, glass,... Tyer didn't even know what the artificial heart was made of. Tyler was ignorant. Tyler felt ignorant. After all, he'd been ignorant all those years. Those seven years.

" - I'm sorry, Josh. I'm sorry. Please, please, wake up... "

~.~

_Absolutely nothing._

~.~

          Josh wakes up. Not lost, not weak. Just full of despair, of sorrow, old tears blurring his vision. Tyler hugs him, knowing. Josh cries silently. Tyler sobs, feeling sorry. Jenna feels miserable, excusing herself. The doctor enters, a face full of bad news, files corrupted by a bad future. Josh stops the world around him, erases his surroundings. He only wants to see. The doctor takes one of the files in his hands. He opens it. Tension escapes from the paper. They wait, wait for the bad news Tyler silently hopes are not that bad.

80 beats by minute.  
4 800 beats by hour.  
115 200 beats by day.  
806 400 beats by week.  
3 225 600 beats in a month.  
16 128 000.

Josh has around 16 128 000 beats left.  
Josh has around five months left.

  
          Because Josh lived, because Josh loved, because Josh wasted his beats behind his drums, wasting his years every night. Because Josh made the mistake to quit his job. Because Josh made the mistake to follow Tyler, one day, thinking it was a good idea. Because Josh made the mistake to fall in love. And all josh could think right now, seeing his friend cry, seeing his friend's wife sob, seeing the doctor go away, pity in his eyes, is that he has enough of people feeling sorry for him. And when his best friend hugs him, letting his tears wet his t-shirt, his heart doesn't go faster. His mind doesn't scream at him. His body doesn't react. Josh feels nothing. Absolutely nothing. Because deep down he knows.

_His biggest mistake was being born.  
_

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo... Did you like it ? I mean, I'm kind of proud of this one, but... Yeah. Hope you liked it.
> 
> I'll maybe do it as a fanfiction, it could be interesting and I could go deeper in the story, but I'm not really good at writing a fic, I easily forget and start to be tired of it so... Yeah, maybe I'll try one day.
> 
> For now on, I'll let you go again. Thanks for reading my frens, and as Tyler said : stay alive, it's worth it. I promise.


End file.
